My Personal Experience as an Onlooker
by BethanyTeresa
Summary: Ariana is entering Hogwarts for the first time in her life. This is the story of her life as an onlooker.
1. Chapter 1

My Name is Ariana Lennegard. This is the story of my experience at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Every word is as it happened and every action is how it went down. The following literature is my documentary as an onlooker.

(AN: Please take into account that Ariana enters Hogwarts a year after Harry Potter.

I sat in the botanical garden beside my house waiting for Mckenna like I did every Thursday evening. The air was warm and gentle as it swirled the scents of sweet mint, lemon balm, and perhaps a thousand others through the breeze. I rested cross-legged, preparing black tea on the red-brick path that winds its way through the garden. _Sigh, _I love moments like this, I thought to myself. I gazed into the porcelain mug between my hands. It steamed as the milk was added. _Drip. drop._ I gazed intently while the two-percent seeped down and created intricate spirals before floating back up and clouding the original amber coloring. I raised the mug to my lips. Before I could take a sip I was hugged from behind, which was followed by a welcoming squeal. "I got my letter!", I turned to face my best friend Mckenna Tiane. This particular evening she was wearing muggle jeans and a fitted D.A.R.E t-shirt. Where in the world she got one of those? I haven't the slightest idea. Her straight auburn locks usually fell down a tad bit past the lower half of her shoulders, but tonight it was swept up into a hurried bun on the back of her head.

"Shocker.. We both saw it coming, I mean, you're the pureblood. I'm the half-blood, I'm the one we should be worried about." I confessed.

"Loosen up Ari, you're going to get in. I guarantee you."

"Sure.. you just keep telling me that. I'm not going to get in.. I know I'm not. I'm just not Hogwarts material." Rumors say that they always choose the pureblood over the half-blood when it comes to enrollment. Rumors are always true in some way shape or form, right? Plus, why me? My father may be a pureblood, but he is a nobody, a complete nobody. Oh! And for icing on the cake, my mother is a muggle.

We remained there arguing about that very subject as we had for the last month or so until we heard a rustling in the shrubbery behind us. I froze midsentence and locked my gaze with Mckenna's. "Uh..?"

"A rabbit?" she offered.

"Don't think so.." I whispered

I glanced around searching for anything out of the norm. Mckenna's mother had charmed the garden so that no animals would come and eat her precious plants.

_Crunch. _

_Crackle. _

_Thud. _

We stared in unison at the house-elf facedown in the grass. I wasn't sure whether I should be laughing hysterically or what. One glance at Mckenna told me she was wondering the same thing. We stayed in that position staring at the elf for about a minute more. He finally pulled himself up with a minor groan and hobbled to an upright position directly in front of us. He looked us both over slowly and stared us each in the eyes before releasing a grunt as he settled in front of me. "Are you Madam Ariana Lennegard?" said a nasally voice.

"Um.. Yes." I replied.

He flicked at the air and was suddenly holding an envelope. He edged closer and placed the letter in my palm. I blinked and he was gone.

"Was that weird? Or wh-". My words were cut off as McKenna snatched the letter from my hands.

"Do you know what this is?" She cried. I hadn't really given it much thought, as I was so taken aback by the elf encounter.

"Well I.. Well.. No.." I admitted. She stared at me dumbstruck before shaking her head and handing it back to me.

"I guess you'll have to find out then." She stepped back and folded her hands. She then proceeded to nod her head with a polite "I win."

That's when it struck me. No.. It couldn't be! What if..? I ripped that envelope open as fast as I possibly could. "Congratulations, you have been accepted into Hogwarts school of..." I hadn't even finished reading when I promptly fainted. All I heard on the way was Mckenna squealing excitedly, then I was down.

Yes it was short, Yes the other chapters will be longer, Yes, I would like you to leave a review, thank you for asking.

:)


	2. Chapter 2

Two more days! I sprang from my bed immediately after I opened my eyes. Being excited for something was probably the best feeling in the world. I get all flighty and have so much more energy than usual. I'm not the slightest bit irritable either. When I get excited I tend to prepare for whatever is happening. I've already made a list of what I needed to purchase, gone to both Hogsmeade and Diagon alley with Mckenna and purchased all that I needed, I have organized all that I will be bringing, I even read a book of Hogwarts history from front to back. All thats left to do is put everything in a suitcase. A suitcase.. Where would they be? Of course! The basement. I swung open my door and practically leapt down the two flights of stairs to the lowest level. I flipped the light switch and scanned the area. After about five minutes of hardcore searching I found them. They were located in the darkest corner and were covered in cobwebs and other filth. "Eww.." I muttered to myself.

I grabbed the cleanest one and bolted back up to my room. Alright, now to pack. I shoved everything into the suitcase making sure everything fit and everything was there. As you could probably already tell, I'm not a very neat person. All done! I beamed at my quick work. What to do now?

Next thing I knew, Mckenna and I were dodging muggles as we headed toward platform nine and three quarters. We waited till some redheaded family passed through the wall before we did. I went first. If they could do it, I could. I sighed once and went full speed. _Let's do this._

_Whoosh. _

Woah.. I just went through a wall. I glanced back to see Mckenna half materialized as she passed through. She threw me a sheepish grin and beckoned for me to come closer. "Let's follow those redheads, they seem to know where they're going" she observed. And so we did.

Eventually we were sitting in our own private train compartment. A few of my new classmates passed by our compartment but none stopped. "I guess we have the place to ourselves!" proclaimed Mckenna. She spoke too soon however. Moments after she said those words a skinny girl with shoulder length blonde hair stepped in.

"Uh.. C..Can I sit here?" she stammered.

"Sure you can." I replied happily. I'm not even there yet and already people are talking to me. I grinned at her as she took a seat next to Mckenna who was seated across from me. "So are you a first year as well?" Mckenna questioned.

The ride went quickly in Noelle and Mckenna's presence. I learned a lot about her. Her name is Noelle Annette. She has 4 brothers, though she is the oldest. She is a mudblood. Her parents are archaeologists and are often on-site in foreign countries. That is why she and her brothers live with her widowed maternal aunt, who is a witch. Noelle was actually a very interesting person, once she warmed to us. After we stepped off the train we were lead by some sort of large hairy half giant to the edge of a lake lined with tiny two person boats. He had us all line up and then he paired us off with someone. He had us and our partner get inside a boat and told us that he would lead and we were to follow. I was paired off with Noelle. Mckenna however, was paired off with a tall, muscular, dark haired boy. I couldn't tell much more about his appearance because it was dusk at the time. Although, what I did notice was that Mckenna looked pretty happy about it. When the half-giant pushed off shore we followed one by one. The boat trip took about 15 minutes till we reached shore. We lined the boats upon the shore and proceeded to follow "Large and Hairy". During the time in which we were following the half-giant's lead, Mckenna approached us, squealing as always. She was talking so fast I couldn't understand all of her words. She said something about how his name is Neil and he is so super cute, and she totally saw sparks flying. I rolled my eyes. Typical Mckenna, always after what strikes her as appealing.

We continued walking until it came into view. It was glorious. It was magnificent. It was.. "Ladies and gents, please welcome yourselves to The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."


	3. Chapter 3

"Thanks for the (1)Reviews!" said the author, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

And now for the THIRD chapter in the ENDLESS story of pure insanity. So you'd better enjoy yourselves ya hear?

" Welcome students! One and all, all and one. Congratulations, you have made it to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." spoke Dumbledore. "Before we taste the wonderful feast prepared for us, we must sort you into the correct houses. Would Noelle Annette please step forward?"

Noelle shot me a nervous glance before trudging up to the rickety wooden stool before Dumbledore. "Sit." He commanded.

Noelle complied and seemed to be extremely nervous. Dumbledore placed a wrinkly leather hat upon her head. I gasped when the hat began to speak. "This one is simple, Hufflepuff!" Dumbledore removed the hat and Noelle skittered off to the Hufflepuff tables.

I watched with interest as each student took his or her turn. Jerome Blake. "Hufflepuff I'm certain."

Joyce Brenda. "Slytherin, Absolutely no doubt about it."

Owen Brent. "Ravenclaw!"

Mary Cassidy. "Gryffindor of course!"

Riley Everett. "Another Hufflepuff!"

Delia Janiya. "Gryffindor."

Nicholas Kelton. "Slytherin! The obvious choice." I noticed that Nicholas was the first one who seemed happy about being in Slytherin.

Neil Kenneth. I felt Mckenna nudge me in the ribs. "Slytherin!" I turned to reel in her reaction. She looked utterly shocked, then it turned into irritation.

Oliver Koda. "Gryffindor!" Oh! I hadn't noticed he had been going in alphabetical order until now. A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-..L.. My stomach had suddenly become an acrobat. Ariana Lennegard. I slowly rose to my feet and edged my way up to the stool to take a seat. It occurred to me now that I honestly didn't care what house I was in. I could cope with Slytherin, maybe Mckenna could introduce me to Neil. What am I thinking? I brushed away my stupid thoughts and awaited my results.

"I can tell right away that you are destined to be in Hufflepuff." Hufflepuff. Alright. I can deal with that. I walked over to the Hufflepuff tables to find Noelle giving me a thumbs up.

"This is awesome" she whispered. I nodded in agreement. The students continued to be sorted as we shared happy thoughts together,

Luke Melvin. "Gryffindor."

India Rachel. "Ravenclaw."

Jacob Rudy. " Ravenclaw, like your parents."

Tina Sydney. "Ravenclaw once more!" She smirked confidently as she skipped away.

"What'd you think of her?" I asked.

"Eh, Probably just some stuck-up pureblood." Noelle replied.

Mckenna Tiane. Oh Geez, I thought to myself. What if she is in a different house? Everything we were excited to do together may not even happen at all. I threw her some crossed fingers as she perched atop the stool.

"My! Would you like to add a fourth to that streak of Ravenclaws? Wait! Do not answer that, you may not choose, only I can, and I choose.. (AN: I thought of ending here to be torturous and cruel, but then I decided it would be too short, so you got lucky. Enough chatter.) Slytherin!" Mckenna smiled sweetly as she strutted over to take a seat next to Neil. Flashes of late night chats in the common room, eating lunch at the same table, and us laughing through it all melted away. None of that will ever happen. She is in Slytherin. She was the only one I knew I could definitely count on. Now I didn't know if I could. Since when are Slytherins friends with anyone but other Slytherins? Since never. Mckenna isn't one to mess with anything that could deem her "unpopular". The term she hated the most. I didn't know many people. She is the one who would go out to crazy pureblood parties. I'm the one who would divulge in every fascinating detail later that night. She is the life of the party. I've never gone to an actual party besides birthdays and the winter holidays. She is my best friend. I thought I was hers. She is an attention seeker. Attention is usually the last thing I want. I'm in Hufflepuff. She is in Slytherin. That last one tacked onto it all was probably enough to ruin it. God Ari.. What are you possibly thinking? Mckenna would never drop you like that, she trusts you and you trust her. You have been the best of friends for the last seven years, there is no possible way she would leave you now.

I had finally convinced myself that nothing would come in the way of our friendship until up in the dorms Noelle pointed out "That was a shock. Especially the fact that she smiled while leaving the stool, almost like she was happy to be in Slytherin." That's what tipped the balance and crashed my world down around me. Well not exactly, but more importantly, Mckenna didn't even care. I had been distraught at the time, I hadn't even noticed that smug little smile as she skipped off to her tall and dark acquaintance. Now what did that smile mean? It could have meant a lot of things, but I interpreted it to be what my worst fear was. Mckenna didn't care about us. She cared about power, and popularity. She didn't care about us anymore. Those were the reasons why I cried myself to sleep that night. Those were the reasons why I stopped caring about her. I had no doubt that she would shun us until we took the hint. I'll play along. Not like it would change anything.

AN: Yes, she does overreact. Yes reviews are simply required for me to continue. Just joking. I add a new one every day anyway. Well I try. Oh yeah, so to make up for them being short I add one each day, alright?


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